Les Miserables

     Sensational, dramatic, packed
   with rich excitement and filled
   with the sweep and violence of
   human passions, LES MISER-
   ABLES is not only superb adven-
   ture but a powerful social docu-
   ment. The story of how the convict
   Jean-Valjean struggled to escape
   his past and reaffirm his humanity,
   in a world brutalized by poverty
   and ignorance, became the gospel
   of the poor and the oppressed.




Description provided by Amazon.com



Les Miserables (1978)

       Director: Glenn Jordan

       Writers: John Gay (writer), Victor Hugo (novel)






Les Miserables (1998)

Think & Grow Rich

This is one of the best books I've ever read in my life.

It is worth your time and attention.


The bestselling success book of all time
is updated and revised with contemporary
ideas and examples.








Think and Grow Rich has been called the "Granddaddy of All Motivational Literature." It was the first book to boldly ask, "What makes a winner?" The man who asked and listened for the answer, Napoleon Hill, is now counted in the top ranks of the world's winners himself.






The most famous of all teachers of success spent "a fortune and the better part of a lifetime of effort" to produce the "Law of Success" philosophy that forms the basis of his books and that is so powerfully summarized in this one.

In the original Think and Grow Rich, published in 1937, Hill draws on stories of Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and other millionaires of his generation to illustrate his principles. In the updated version, Arthur R. Pell, Ph.D., a nationally known author, lecturer, and consultant in human resources management and an expert in applying Hill's thought, deftly interweaves anecdotes of how contemporary millionaires and billionaires, such as Bill Gates, Mary Kay Ash, Dave Thomas, and Sir John Templeton, achieved their wealth. Outmoded or arcane terminology and examples are faithfully refreshed to preclude any stumbling blocks to a new generation of readers.

Description provided by Amazon.com

The Pursuit Of Happyness

I just watched this segment on Glenn Beck. I loved it so much, I had to do a post about it. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.




     The astounding yet true rags-to-
   riches saga of a homeless father
   who raised and cared for his son
   on the mean streets of San Fran-
   cisco and went on to become a
   crown prince of Wall Street

     At the age of twenty, Milwaukee
   native Chris Gardner, just out of
   the Navy, arrived in San Fran-
   cisco to pursue a promising
   career in medicine. Considered a
   prodigy in scientific research, he
   surprised everyone and himself
                                                                         by setting his sights on the comp-
etitive world of high finance. Yet no sooner had he landed an entry-level position at a prestigious firm than Gardner found himself caught in a web of incredibly challenging circumstances that left him as part of the city's working homeless and with a toddler son. Motivated by the promise he made to himself as a fatherless child to never abandon his own children, the two spent almost a year moving among shelters, "HO-tels," soup lines, and even sleeping in the public restroom of a subway station.

Never giving in to despair, Gardner made an astonishing transformation from being part of the city's invisible poor to being a powerful player in its financial district.

More than a memoir of Gardner's financial success, this is the story of a man who breaks his own family's cycle of men abandoning their children. Mythic, triumphant, and unstintingly honest, The Pursuit of Happyness conjures heroes like Horatio Alger and Antwone Fisher, and appeals to the very essence of the American Dream.

Description provided by Amazon.com

PostSecret

The project that captured a nation's imagination.


The instructions were simple, but the results were extraordinary.






"You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession, or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything
-- as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative."







It all began with an idea Frank Warren had for a community art project. He began handing out postcards to strangers and leaving them in public places -- asking people to write down a secret they had never told anyone and mail it to him, anonymously.





The response was overwhelming. The secrets were both provocative and profound, and the cards themselves were works of art -- carefully and creatively constructed by hand. Addictively compelling, the cards reveal our deepest fears, desires, regrets, and obsessions. Frank calls them "graphic haiku," beautiful, elegant, and small in structure but powerfully emotional.





As Frank began posting the cards on his website, PostSecret took on a life of its own, becoming much more than a simple art project. It has grown into a global phenomenon, exposing our individual aspirations, fantasies, and frailties -- our common humanity.





Every day dozens of postcards still make their way to Frank, with postmarks from around the world, touching on every aspect of human experience. This extraordinary collection brings together the most powerful, personal, and beautifully intimate secrets Frank Warren has received -- and brilliantly illuminates that human emotions can be unique and universal at the same time.





– A contributor on Postsecret.com

"Humanity at its finest . . . And because of it I am falling in love with the world again."


– TIME.com, "50 Coolest Websites of 2005"

"A fascinating public airing of private thoughts. . . The range of efforts (meticulous, sloppy, artful, ponderous) will astound you."


– A contributor on Postsecret.com

"Humanity at its finest . . . And because of it I am falling in love with the world again."

Confessor - Terry Goodkind

_ _ _ _ _


     Descending into darkness, about
   to be overwhelmed by evil, those
   people still free are powerless to
   stop the coming dawn of a savage
   new world, while Richard faces
   the guilt of knowing that he must
   let it happen. Alone, he must
   bear the weight of a sin he dare
   not confess to the one person he
   loves and has lost. Join Richard
   and Kahlan in the concluding
   novel of one of the most
   remarkable and memorable
   journeys ever written. It started
   with one rule, and will end with
   the rule of all rules, the rule
   unwritten, the rule unspoken
   since the dawn of history. When
   next the sun rises, the world will
   be forever changed.

Brisingr

- Coming Soon -




Sept 20, 2008

Eldest

     Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state
from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in
the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon
he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil.

The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people.

The sheer size of the novel, as well as its many characters, places with difficult names, and its use of imaginary languages make this a challenging read, even for experienced fantasy readers. It is essential to have the plot threads of the first volume well in mind before beginning--the publisher has provided not only a map, but a helpful synopsis of the first book and a much-needed Language Guide. But no obstacles will deter the many fans of Eragon from diving headfirst into this highly-awaited fantasy.
(Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell

Eragon

     Fifteen-year-old Eragon
  believes that he is merely a poor
  farm boy—until his destiny as a
  Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted
  with only an ancient sword, a
  loyal dragon, and sage advice
  from an old storyteller, Eragon is
  soon swept into a dangerous
  tapestry of magic, glory, and
  power. Now his choices could
  save—or destroy—the Empire.





Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend. Christopher Paolini began Eragon when he was just 15, and the book shows the influence of Tolkien, of course, but also Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and perhaps even Wagner in its traditional quest structure and the generally agreed-upon nature of dwarves, elves, dragons, and heroic warfare with magic swords.

Eragon, a young farm boy, finds a marvelous blue stone in a mystical mountain place. Before he can trade it for food to get his family through the hard winter, it hatches a beautiful sapphire-blue dragon, a race thought to be extinct. Eragon bonds with the dragon, and when his family is killed by the marauding Ra'zac, he discovers that he is the last of the Dragon Riders, fated to play a decisive part in the coming war between the human but hidden Varden, dwarves, elves, the diabolical Shades and their neanderthal Urgalls, all pitted against and allied with each other and the evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon Saphira set out to find their role, growing in magic power and understanding of the complex political situation as they endure perilous travels and sudden battles, dire wounds, capture and escape.

In spite of the engrossing action, this is not a book for the casual fantasy reader. There are 65 names of people, horses, and dragons to be remembered and lots of pseudo-Celtic places, magic words, and phrases in the Ancient Language as well as the speech of the dwarfs and the Urgalls. But the maps and glossaries help, and by the end, readers will be utterly dedicated and eager for the next book, Eldest. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

The Gift - Richard Paul Evans